Inconcessus Fructus
by lille082
Summary: AU, but HBP compliant. A chance meeting leads to more. HG/SS
1. Part 1

His slender fingers deftly held the small glass in front of him as he swirled the dark liquid. Though many would have attributed it to the large hooked nose that regally protruded from his face, it was the years he spent brewing alone in the dungeons that helped him to identify the subtle hints of woody flavors within the cognac. He let the aroma of the dark liquid fill his senses, closing his eyes and relishing in it before taking a sip. Thin lips lightly touched the delicate rim of the glass, and he let the liquid flow slowly into his mouth. He let it dance around his tongue, truly tasting it before swallowing. He set the glass on the worn wooden table in front of him, and leaned back.

If only the few Death Eaters who had somehow managed to escape death and Azkaban could see him now. One of their own, finding the solidarity he craved among muggles. A ghost of a smirk danced across his face before he dismissed it entirely. Perhaps that was his reasoning for it. For finding solace in a different muggle pub each night, entering and leaving, forever alone. Perhaps, he thought, he was somehow atoning for actions long since past by spending his time and money amongst them. His silent reverie had him staring into the remains of the darkly viscous liquid in the small glass.

He failed to notice the stares he was receiving from a few of the regular patrons and the bartenders. It may have been the odd way he was dressed, or perhaps the air of foreboding they felt as they looked at him. Though they could not find any reason that he should stand out amid to other lonely souls in the pub, they could neither find a reason to look away from him. Maybe he was used to the unwanted attention, or maybe he really was oblivious to it all.

Fervent whispers flew amongst the bartenders, fighting over who would have the misfortune of offering him a refill on his drink. They thought their half-hearted attempts at discretion hid the glances they were sending his way, but at quick glare from his black eyes caused them to attempt to look busy doing some unnecessary chore behind the counter. The boldest of the bunch eventually made her way to his table in the corner, and he glanced up to see a young woman with pink hair that could easily rival anything Tonks could have ever conjured up and a nose ring.

"Top it off for you then, eh?" She said, grabbing the glass without waiting for any response, and hurrying back to the safety of her bar. He crossed his arms as he leaned further back into the shadows privy to his choice of a table half-hidden in the corner. A short while passed before the Tonks-wannabe returned with his glass, and placed it in front of him. She stared at him for a second, to which he responded with a slight nod of the head, which sent her scurrying back to her less intimidating customers. Amused, he took the cup between two of his calloused fingers and brought it to his lips as he leaned back again.

His eyes failed to focus on any one item as thoughts began to swarm his head. He thought of the actions that led him to where he was today. The events of that fateful night on the astronomy tower, the fall of the Dark Lord a year later, and his position as a pawn in it all. He knew that he had gotten himself in too deep, and he shouldn't have gotten involved at all. He should have just stayed the loyal player, and he could have ended the misery of his current state long ago. He absentmindedly sipped at the cognac in his hand, and traced the pattern of the wooden table with his dark eyes.

The door to the pub opened and closed quietly, the only hint that anyone had entered being the rush of cool air from the frozen night that lay outside the dimly lit pub. He paid it no heed, his gaze focused on the glass in his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted a petite figure sit herself at the bar. He looked up to try to catch the gaze of the resident Tonks in order to get another refill, but she was talking with the newly arrived patron amiably, and he wasn't the type to flag down someone for their attention. He scowled slightly, crossing his arms across his heavily robed body before deciding that the night was well over for him. He rose to leave and perhaps wander the streets of whatever small Muggle town he had found himself in tonight, leaving a few bills on the table to cover the cost of the liquor and a tip. He began to button the heavy wool cloak around himself as he passed the bar to leave, when an all-too-familiar voice floated into his mind.

"Oh, no thanks Susie, but I think I'll just stick with the chardonnay for tonight...How is Robert, by the way?"

A fleeting panic flowed through his body before being pushed down by the control he forced upon his body. _Just leave, and she won't have ever seen you. You can keep the guise of having vanished from the face of the planet, and no one would be the wiser._ He tried to force his body towards the heavy oak door that led to the chilly night outside, but it seemed that his feet had a different idea for him. He slowly turned back towards the bar and paused, standing only a few feet away from the two females.

The new presence caught Susie's attention, and she looked up at him, visibly startled.

"Anything else I can get for you then, sir?" She asked taking in his outerwear, assuming that he was on his way out. He shook his head slightly, never taking his eyes off of the woman sitting at the bar.

Pale brown eyes hidden by honey brown curls glanced fleetingly at him when he didn't answer right away, and a sharp intake of breath signaled her recognition of him. He glanced curiously at her shaking hand as she put down her wine glass in front of her before turning to him.

"Professor," she said in an all too controlled voice, her eyes not quite meeting his.

"Miss Granger," he drawled, his voice far too recognizable from her childhood.

She cleared her throat, and gestured towards the barstool next to her. Snape almost smirked.

"No need to be polite, Miss Granger. I merely thought it rude to pass by you in a place such as this without acknowledging your presence." He paused, then nodded slightly, before turning and leaving the pub.

Susie raised an eyeball and stared Hermione, whose mouth was slightly agape.

"So...What was all that about?"

Hermione shook her head, turning back to the bartender. "Um, just an old...friend." She grabbed her purse and threw down some money. "I-I'll see you later, Susie."

Her bushy brown hair bounced as she hurried towards the door the man had left through not too long before. Bright blue eyes watched her leave and Susie smiled as she began to wipe down the bar.

* * *

A/N - This is my first attempt at writing again after a very long hiatus. I will continue this story, though the more I think about writing this fic, the longer it gets in my head. As such, I'm looking for any beta reader willing to take this on. Please message me if you are interested.


	2. Part 2

Black dragonhide boots crushed the freshly fallen snow as Snape all but ran from the pub. _Of all the people...Of all the places... _He shook his head as he looked for a deserted alley for him to apparate. An all too familiar prickling sensation on the back of his neck alerted him to the fact that someone was following him, and he stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around to stare at the slightly shivering form of his former student who was still struggling to pull her muggle overcoat on.

"Miss Granger, just what do you think you are doing?" He asked in an agitated tone as he tried to stare her down.

It was his voice that stopped her more so than his wheeling around to face her. She paused, and finished putting on her coat.

"I...Um...I was just..." She sighed, and shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to see how you are doing, sir." The questioning look on his face made her reconsider her answer. "I mean, well, no one has seen you years, and half of the Order thought you might have been dead, and now to find you here...I mean, what are you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his narrow chest. "Surely with your above average intelligence that you were so well known for in your school days you would be able to figure that out by now." He sneered at her, a deep feeling of regret settling in his chest as the words dripped in the air between them.

She frowned, her Gryffindor stubbornness getting the best of her. "Well, I think I do know, but I'd rather hear your side of the story when I go back to tell everyone that I've found you so they don't have to hear the sad truth."

His eyes flashed darkly. "And what might this 'sad truth' be, Granger?"

"That you're afraid."

He sighed. "Granger, just go back to your pub and forget you ever saw me."

"See? I knew it. You're afraid of returning now that everything is different and-"

He cut her off sharply by pinning her hands to her sides as he leaned in, nearly growling out his response. The hitch in her breathing made him realize that he had scared her, and that she was listening.

"Make no mistake, Granger. I am not, nor will I ever be, afraid of anything left in this world."

She squirmed under his glaring eyes. "Then why are you acting like a coward?"

He laughed inwardly. _The Gryffindor has got some balls. _He sneered again.

"Tell me, _Miss Granger_, what is it that brings you here to this godforsaken Muggle town?"

"That is none of your business." She sniffed.

"Ah, so you're not running away? From what I heard, you had quite an...interesting falling out with some of your classmates." He leered.

Her eyes flashed and she forced herself out of his grasp. _'How could you have felt concern over this greasy git?_' a voice asked in her head. She turned on her heels and made to stalk away into the village. She managed to put a few metres between them before his voice called out to her.

"I see that the Gryffindor courage so highly spoke of remains a rumor."

She wheeled around, her wand pointed at his throat as she stalked back towards him. He chuckled at her.

"You foolish child...You think that you could best me in a duel." His arms crossed his chest. "Very well, get on with it then."

Confusion flickered across her face, and she lowered her wand.

"I see my original observation was correct." He smirked.

"No," she said tersely. "I know a death wish when I see one, Snape."

He laughed. "Well, if you aren't going to do anything about it, then why are you still standing here?"

She shook her head. "People consider you a hero. Yet what have you done since the war? Hidden like a coward."

His sallow face tightened and she knew she had crossed a line. His words took on an iciness that Hermione was sure she had never encountered before in her days as his student.

"I had left because I never wanted to have to deal with people like you ever again. Expecting me to act like a hero, reveling in the limelight, earning peoples' false respect." He spat the last word out at her. "Perhaps that may be something you enjoy, Granger, people fawning over you night and day for your involvement in something far more complex than they could ever imagine, but I'd rather hex myself into oblivion than have to deal with people thinking they know who I am because of what I did."

Hermione stared at him, mouth slightly agape. He sneered at her, and turned on his heel, disappearing from her sights with a loud pop. She stood stunned, staring at the thin air where he had been moments before.

'_How dare he?' _ The voice inside her head cried out angrily. She shook herself slightly, realizing that any passerby in the cold night would think her odd for staring into space. With a last resigned look, she turned back towards the pub, the light above the door dim in the dark night. She began walking the paved street, knowing her destination that lay beyond the small business district.

* * *

Snape scowled as he entered the small cottage that he now considered home. He had abandoned Spinner's End, knowing that living there would only subject him to the curiosity of the bolder members of the wizarding community.

The location was discreet, on a plain street in a plain suburb of Devon. He did not know any of the neighbors who lived in the spaced out houses along the boulevard, and he planned on keeping it that way. The houses were far enough apart that there was no concern of prying eyes or overheard conversations from the people in the neighborhood. The space allowed him to continue living a magical existence, albeit a simple one. Though modern-day power lines connected to the house, he choose to keep his rooms lit by candlelight. The one-story house seemed normal enough, with a sitting room that doubled as a library, a kitchen and small dining space, a bedroom and a bathroom. The basement, however, had been modeled after the dungeon classrooms that had been so familiar to him. He had neatly arranged shelves around the room, and various potion ingredients filled every space available. Cauldrons were arranged neatly around the room, though none had any bubbling mixture filling their pewter insides.

With the exception of mundane chores, the potion brewing that took place in his basement was the most magic he used anymore. Not because his spell casting had grown rusty or he had forgotten any of it, far from it. He had placed a wall between the life he used to lead and that which he now lived.

He hung his cloak up by the door, and made his way to the small cabinet in the sitting room that housed his liquor. He poured himself a generous glass of firewhiskey, and slumped into a plush chair in front of the fireplace.

'_How was it possible that within a few minutes, Granger could have elicited such a response from me?' _

He frowned. In the years since the war, he had a copious amount of time to think. He had been under the impression that he had been at peace with himself and his actions during and since the war. But a brief, but infuriating exchange with a former student brought old doubts to the surface again.

'_Insufferable girl_.' He chided, before finishing off the drink.

He kicked off his boots and made his way to his bedroom, knowing that tonight's sleep would be a fitful one, if it came at all.

* * *

A/N - Thanks for reading. I know it has been an incredibly long time since I posted the first chapter, however I was stuck on where this story was headed. I am still looking for a beta, if anyone is interested.


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